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temporal1 wrote: during this last visit, she happened to ask,
”grammy, why are you happy all the time?!”

this caught my attention.
i felt so badly, knowing how i do worry.

but, her question was sincere.
i give thanks to the Holy Spirit, i pray everyday to find good words. her question tells me i’m doing something right. i cannot take credit.

i responded to her,
“i have you as my granddaughter, how can i not be happy?!” and,
“and, you have always been the happiest child i’ve ever known!”

she has been a happy child, even in the face of unhappiness around her.
she’s 10 now, her emotions are becoming more complex. she’s growing up.
still, a joyful spirit. i hope this endures with her throughout life.

in the past, i talked (with them) about one of my grandmothers.
she was an only child, born in 1899, on a farm in the Midwest.
she was loved, but described her childhood as remote from other children, and lonely. i’m sure it was.

eventually, she married my grandfather who came from a big family. her instant big family!
they had 9 children, then many many grandchildren and great-grandchildren in their lifetimes.
i don’t recall ever seeing or hearing of my grandmother (or grandfather) being anything but happy.
they loved their family.
as an older child, she once told me about her lonely childhood. i had no idea.
this was a special confidance. “people” didn’t talk about the sad parts of life.
they emphasized positives, tried to minimize negatives.

there had to be so many sad things for them
the World Wars, flu pandemics, life before polio vaccine, deadly childhood illnesses, the Great Depression .. so many things.

but, esp prior to “talk TV,” gratitude to God in all circumstances was valued.
“talk TV” brought out the (underbelly) of life. this was found to be a big seller.
by now, the uglier the better. many have abandoned TV.

now i wonder.
will i be remembered as the grandmother who was always happy?!
i never dreamed this would be. now i think it could be.
funny how things go.

i would love that legacy. however unearned.

A. S Scott: Ultra Conservative Mennonite Churches
B. S Scott: Intermediate Conservative Mennonite Churches
C. S Scott: Moderate Conservative Mennonite Churches
D. S Scott: Progressive Conservative Mennonite Churches

• Category A: Fundamental Conservative Mennonites (what Ernie calls Progressive Conservative Mennonites)
• Category B: Moderate Conservative Mennonites
• Category C: Intermediate Conservative Mennonites
• Category D: Ultra-conservative Mennonites (category D)
• Category E: Ultra-conservative Mennonites
• Category F: Intentional groups

Josh wrote:

A. S Scott: Ultra Conservative Mennonite Churches
B. S Scott: Intermediate Conservative Mennonite Churches
C. S Scott: Moderate Conservative Mennonite Churches
D. S Scott: Progressive Conservative Mennonite Churches

Cory Anderson actually uses an A - F categorisation, but his is slightly different:

• Category A: Fundamental Conservative Mennonites (what Ernie calls Progressive Conservative Mennonites)
• Category B: Moderate Conservative Mennonites
• Category C: Intermediate Conservative Mennonites
• Category D: Ultra-conservative Mennonites (category D)
• Category E: Ultra-conservative Mennonites
• Category F: Intentional groups

Anderson places Nationwide Fellowship in its own category, category D. I am not entirely clear on why he does, although I can speculate.

temporal1 wrote:after just being visited by the Census Bureau, i am now looking forward with being “finished” with ACA/IRS (obamacare.)
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1124

in the beginning of obamacare, i dutifully signed up, difficult as it was (hours+hours of phone calls, because the gov system was woefully unprepared.) in the phoning process they got my birth year wrong, that caused lots-more red tape and more hours of phone calls. i had to send them birth documents, etc.! because of their error in my birth year. eventually, complete.
i signed up, paid each month, done.

i did remind them,
i have filed Fed Income Tax return every year since i was 14, no change in my birth year!

what a shock to learn, at the next IRS Federal Income Tax filing, ACA decided (i and millions others) owed an additional $750 for ACA! - due to their miscalculations.

no way around it, it had to be paid, through IRS.

that’s not all! -
because i arranged to make monthly payments (auto-withdrawal from my bank, no other way) -
they added processing costs AND interest costs. upwards of another $100, i believe.

THEY made the error. we not only pay for their error, but pay for processing and interest, too.

April will be my final payment, the total amount remaining. $31.50. finally.

i was on ACA for 11 months. i was afraid to use it. i went to regular office visits.
then, because of my age, i was automatically put on Medicare (not Medicaid.)
with some, not all, corresponding Medicare costs auto-deducted each month.

Medicare is a substantial cost (from my budget) - it is not “free.”

While Congress members spend millions out of the public treasury for THEIR personal sex lawsuits.
They are ace at pirating other peoples’ money. “Heads i win, tails, you lose.”

temporal1 wrote:since returning home from my winter family visit, i have returned to what has become an all-too-repeated time of inner struggling-with-self. what a waste of time!

temporal1 wrote:

MaxPC wrote:

Wayne in Maine wrote:Source: Chicago sees drop in murders and shootings in January
Some oppose predictive policing, claiming that it is "technological racism ".

Crime numbers in general drop in winter months. Maybe it was too cold in Chicago this year. Weather has and always will be a factor in crime stats. Still, it remains yet another thread to promote gun control and political Dem policies.

this is something i’m struggling with right now.
i’m trying to face that there is nothing left here for me.
when i bought my home, 10 years ago, i had dreams of my family having wonderful visits, i thought i would live here to the end, God willing. my neighborhood is kinda like that.

but, 10 years on, if i can, i need to think of another plan for my final years.
it’s pretty tough here. i’m not sure i can do all that is required (to move) on my own.
my children are busy and far away. when they have free time, returning here is not on their minds.
i’m having a hard time with it.

with my family so disconnected, i wonder what am i doing here?
if i move, what would i be doing there?!

my granddaughter would love to visit. i suspect her mother might be afraid she would like it, not realize the economic and crime problems, and want to stay, or visit often.
things are pretty sad here right now. not sure what to do.

MaxPC wrote: T1, your personal witness to living in Illinois is far more effective and credible than any political graph or chart. Thank you for sharing the reality there. As has been demonstrated time and again, politicians love to abuse the intelligence of the public by the manipulation of statistics to support their particular agendas. Thus those charts and graphs only represent political propaganda, not the actual experiences of those who live there. It's no surprise to me that there is a secessionist movement in Illinois and other states in which the non-metro areas are seeking to separate from the urban liberal strongholds to create their own state.